


mocha for ellie

by acceptabletwig



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Just what it says on the tin, coffee shop AU, just a coffee shop AU guys - nothing groundbreaking, so FUCKING what, this is dumb and sweet, yes ellie is an animal and has too much sugar in her coffee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:26:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26560633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acceptabletwig/pseuds/acceptabletwig
Summary: A coffee shop AU where Dina is tired, Ellie doesn't like coffee and the timing just keeps not being right.
Relationships: Dina & Jesse (The Last Of Us), Dina/Ellie (The Last of Us)
Comments: 127
Kudos: 349





	1. Winter

**Author's Note:**

> Gracefully beta'd once again by my gf.

The bell on the door to the coffee shop is getting on Dina’s nerves. It’s helpful to have during the slow moments, but during peak periods the constant ringing noise is just irritating. Part of the frustration may be the cold weather and how each opening and closing of the door brings in a blast of cold air that Dina never truly recovers from.

Another monotonous day, countless coffee cups, too many people not knowing their order when they come up to the counter, and the standard handful of people who gaze off into the abyss and ignore their name being called until their coffee has gone tepid.

Jesse is making the coffee today, and Dina is managing the till. Her mind is half working through her computing assignment, lines of code distantly floating through her head as she seems to endlessly take payments, scribble an order and a name half-heartedly on a cup and smile shallowly at customers.

A balding man in a suit, a rumpled woman with a fussing baby, a literal child in a school uniform, and then a very tired, very pretty girl in a big coat.

Her eyes are puffy and tired, her cheeks pink from the cold outside, and she’s wearing the biggest puffer jacket that Dina has ever seen. She’s a solid two inches taller than Dina, with bright green eyes, and freckles scattered over her cheeks. She’s wearing a thick grey beanie, her hair falling loosely past her shoulders, and Dina is enamoured.

“Can I just get a medium mocha to go, please?” she asks, her hand shaking slightly as she holds out a five dollar note.

“Sure thing,” Dina smiles, more genuinely this time. Their hands brush when Dina takes the note and again when she hands her change. Her hands are like ice, and Dina can see the tiniest hint of a tattoo peeking out from under her sleeve. “Name?”

“Ellie,” the girl replies. Dina dutifully writes it on the cup and by the time she looks back up she hears a soft thank you and Ellie has moved to other side of the room joining the many waiting for their coffees.

It takes Dina a moment to focus on their next customer and by the time she finishes taking orders from those in the queue, Ellie has disappeared.

\--

Ellie returns a week later, and this time Dina is making the drinks. Jesse and Dina normally take turns on either duty, but she had been working almost solidly on drinks for the better part of the week. She tells him it’s because she now prefers it, but it’s really because she doesn’t feel the wind from outside as much on this side of the café.

She doesn’t notice it at first, halfway through preparing the drink when she fully reads Jesse’s chicken scratch writing on the cup; ‘Ellie’. She looks up immediately, almost burning herself in her carelessness, and she can see the girl waiting patiently. Her hair is up today, in a bun, her cheeks still flushed, her nose slightly pink, and she’s wrapped her arms around herself like she’s trying to keep the warmth in. She’s in the same thick black puffer jacket and she’s gained a scarf, now half-tucked under the coat collar. She looks tired and for a moment Dina feels an intense urge to hug her.

Dina tries desperately to think of something clever to say to her as she finishes making the drink. Her mind is exceedingly blank and everything she can think of is about the cold outside and how Ellie somehow looks both overwhelmingly prepared and yet frozen. _I can’t make small talk about the weather, that’s stupid._ She presses the lid on carefully and turns to hold the cup out. “Mocha for Ellie?” 

Ellie smiles, her hand trembling slightly as she comes forward and takes the cup from Dina’s hand. Dina sees it properly this time; her sleeve is slightly higher now and Dina can tell that the dark lines peeking out are leaves. _I wonder what the whole design is._

Dina’s about to ask when Ellie grabs blindly at the tray of sugar packets, taking potentially upwards of five sachets, and leaves abruptly.

_Why didn’t she just ask for her drink with sugar?_

\--

It’s a week later when Ellie returns. _Fridays, huh?_

Dina is on the coffee machine again, and is slightly more prepared this time when she sees Ellie’s name on the cup. It’s busy again and Ellie is slightly too far away from the counter for Dina to speak easily to her when there’s a handful of other customers waiting for their drinks.

Ellie’s in a different jacket this time; it’s light brown and made of a thick canvas, and it’s a bit too big for her. Dina can tell she’s wearing a grey hoodie underneath as the hood sits awkwardly half outside the collar of the outer jacket. Ellie’s hair is in a messy ponytail, a forgotten pen tucked behind her ear, and her lips look a little chapped. 

Dina mixes in an extra sugar this time. She thinks about how many packets Ellie grabbed but doesn’t want to be presumptuous. _It’s a mocha, it’s already sweet._

“Mocha for Ellie?” Dina calls, holding it out for Ellie to take. She waits until Ellie’s hand is firmly around the cup before adding. “With one sugar.”

“O-oh, thank you,” Ellie says, smiling shyly, blushing slightly. She falters, hugging the cup carefully closer to her and pressing both hands to it carefully, like she’s trying to warm them up.

Dina doesn’t know her at all, but she can read the embarrassment clearly on her face. “You can still add more sugar, it’s alright,” she says softly.

Ellie nods jerkily, reaching out blindly again to take several sachets of sugar, and leaves with a blush so hot that Dina can see the red on the back of her neck as she turns.

\--

The next week Dina adds three sugars to the mocha. She has to fight back a wince as she does so. _This is undrinkable._

“Mocha for Ellie,” she says with a smile. She lets Ellie come forward again and take the cup before adding, “Three sugars.”

Ellie grins at her, and with slightly more confidence than the previous week she plucks two extra sugar packets out of the tray in front of her. She pauses this time, opening the lid of the cup carefully and pouring in the extra sugar, using one of the small stirring sticks to mix it in.

_That is disgusting._

Dina knows faintly that there’s a small crowd in the café, that she has a line of cups waiting for her to work through, but she just watches with narrowed eyes. “Got a sweet tooth?” she asks with a playful smirk, noting the paint stains on the cuffs of Ellie’s canvas jacket.

Ellie looks up at her, grinning bashfully now, and her lips move as though to speak but she’s interrupted but some harried impatient man.

“Are you going to make my drink, or what?” he presses, rudely.

Dina levels an unimpressed look at him, but dutifully responds, “yes, sir.”

Ellie slips out quietly, flashing a small apologetic smile when she looks back over her shoulder at Dina.

This time Dina does burn herself.

\--

The next week the shop is almost empty when Ellie arrives. Dina makes the drink with five sugars, flashing a smile to Ellie on the other side of the counter.

Ellie approaches the counter before she calls her name, a blush prominent on her cheeks.

“Five sugars,” Dina smirks.

Ellie squints at her, sipping the drink cautiously, conscious of how hot it is. “Perfect,” she murmurs.

Dina chuckles, leaning over the counter, “How could you possibly drink that?”

Ellie shrugs.

“You must have the biggest sweet tooth in the world,” Dina continues. “Do you even need the caffeine with that much sugar?”

Ellie laughs, “I need whatever I can get to get through the day.”

“You working nearby?” Dina asks, resting her elbows on the counter and grinning up at Ellie.

“Yeah, across the road actually,” Ellie smiles. “It’s an internship, so just Fridays at the moment.”

Dina nods, watching at Ellie takes another sip of the drink and smiles, clutching the cup close to her chest. “What’s the internship for?”

“Graphic design,” Ellie replies, scuffing her boots on the floor, and for a moment Dina feels like she’s bothering her.

“Sorry, I know you probably need to get back to work.”

“No, no,” Ellie rushes to say, stepping closer and placing the cup absently on the table. “I just know you’re always so busy here, I don’t want to take up too much of your time.” Her cheeks are blushing now, ears red, and her hands are nervously fidgeting with the lid of her cup.

“You’re good,” Dina smiles, placing a hand on Ellie’s to still the movement. _Fuck, her hands are cold._

“What, uh, what do you do?” Ellie asks, and after a moment of Dina looking at her fondly, her blush deepens to a cherry red. “Fuck, I mean, like, outside of here?” she asks, wincing. “Not that- not that you’d need to do anything outside of this-”

“Freckles, you need to breathe,” Dina laughs, her thumb rubbing Ellie’s hand absently. “I’m studying at the moment, doing a Bachelors of Engineering but my major is electrical engineering, so I do a lot of stuff on digital logic and programming.”

Ellie nods along, eyes wide, and her gaze makes Dina feel slightly nervous.

“I’m in my honours year now so I get to look at really fun stuff like model based software engineering, and digital signal processing,” Dina shrugs, standing up properly and rubbing the back of her neck, she knows she’s babbling and cannot seem to stop. “Oh, and like, I’ve picked up a bioelectronics class which talks about the application of electronics in physiological monitoring, and biosensors, and electrical stimulation, and medical imaging…” Dina’s voice trails off, suddenly very conscious of how much she’s said.

“That’s,” Ellie laughs, slightly breathless. “That’s really cool. You sound like you really enjoy it, that’s nice.”

“Yeah,” Dina says lamely, and she can almost viscerally feel the blush making its way up her neck.

“You sound really fucking smart,” Ellie says. _And like a total fucking loser,_ Dina thinks.

“Dina?” Jesse calls from behind her. When Dina doesn’t reply, he adds, “Dude, there’s orders to make, can you help me or what?”

“S-sorry, I should get to that,” Dina says awkwardly.

Ellie nods, thanking her again quietly for the coffee, and leaves. _Why couldn’t you have interrupted me earlier? Fuck._

\--

Jesse doesn’t bring it up again until later that day, but when he does Dina wants the ground to swallow her up.

“So that girl, huh?” He asks, nudging her as she cleans the coffee machine.

“What girl?”

“Oh, okay, that’s how you wanna play it, huh?” Jesse laughs, leaning back against the counter, and tossing a handtowel absently as he watches her.

“She’s cute, okay?” Dina huffs. “Can you fault me?”

“Nah, you gotta shoot your shot, right?”

“She said more words to me today than she has in the month she’s been coming in,” Dina grumbles. “And I fucking talked her ear off about uni, _fuck_.”

“Don’t stress about it,” Jesse says, patting her shoulder reassuring. “Who doesn’t love a smart girl?”

“Ugh.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~Short and sweet like my gf.~
> 
> This fic is told in three parts, hopefully the next one won't be that far away. (still working on my other fics, this is just a random story I started in July and lost track of)
> 
> If you wanna yell at me, my tumblr user: @respectablesentiment


	2. Spring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gracefully beta'd once again by my gf.

It's Spring now, almost two months since Ellie started coming into the cafe on Fridays, and Dina feels like each week is warmer than the last, so despite the lack of opportunity to speak with Ellie - at least she'll be able to see more of her soon. Ellie’s thick coat had been long abandoned but her hoodie remained.

It’s not that Dina’s spent a lot of time thinking about this girl - she just seems sweet and Dina likes to think about her tattoo and what it means and how it would sit on her arm. How far up does it go? Maybe part of it is that Dina keeps seeing the tattoo but not properly, and maybe part of it is that Ellie seems to mostly come in during the busiest point on Fridays and Dina never really gets to talk to her after she got carried away that one time.

"What kind of stuff do you think she does at her internship?" Dina asks Jesse one afternoon.

"I think her tattoo must be some kind of leaf, maybe a fern? Or a flower or something? Do you think it just wraps around her wrist or goes up her forearm?"

"How old do you think she is?"

"Do you think you could drink a mocha with five sugars?"

"Do you think she has more than one tattoo?"

"Dina, dude, I love you," Jesse tells her, eyes wide, hands firmly gripping her hands and shaking her playfully. "But shut the fuck up."

"Ugh," Dina sighs. "I'm sorry, I know I keep fucking talking about her."

"Just ask her out," Jesse huffs. "Like- you're pretty fucking confident about yourself," he says, gesturing at Dina. "I don't get the problem?"

"She's always here when it's busy, and I spend the whole week waiting for her to come in," Dina whines. "And she's barely fucking here."

"I don't know what to tell you," Jesse shrugs. "Just be more effective with your time, I guess. Draw on the cup?”

“The real world doesn’t work like that,” Dina huffs.

Jesse picks up a cup from the stack beside them, grabbing a pen and scribbling on it quickly. “Use this next time,” he grins, offering it out to her.

She narrows her eyes at the cup like he’s written something offensive, but it’s actually alright, despite the messy writing. ‘ _The sweetest coffee for the sweetest girl. Call me x’_

“It’ll only work if you add your number below it,” he adds when she looks back up to him.

“I mean… I don’t really know her, so I don’t know if she’s actually sweet,” Dina says in a small voice. She’s being petulant and she knows it.

Jesse groans, throwing a tea towel at her in frustration. “You’ve been making eyes at her for ages, accept the help or stop talking about it.”

\--

Dina does accept his help, although he doesn’t give her much of a chance. He’s on the till next when Ellie arrives, and Dina doesn’t notice at first, focused on the rhythm of making coffees. Her heart feels like it goes into double time when she picks up the unlabelled cup – ‘ _The sweetest coffee for the sweetest girl. Call me x’_ , and he’s written her number underneath it.

When she looks up she sees Ellie waiting patiently, her hoodie switched out for a button up shirt. Dina feels breathless at the sight of her, her eyes tracing the way that shirt fits her properly, hugging closely to strong arms, the collar sitting neatly at her neck, a thin waist and broad shoulders. It takes her several moments to meet Ellie’s eyes; Ellie smiles at her, probably assuming that Dina had read her name on the cup and not what Jesse had written.

 _Holy fuck,_ Dina thinks, looking back down at the cup in alarm. It would be too obvious to switch out the cup now. She glares at Jesse, waiting for a moment for him to turn to her with a wide grin. _Asshole._ She tries to school her features to a more neutral look, beginning to make the mocha almost robotically as she thinks about what she wants to say.

Ellie is closer by the time Dina looks up again, waiting patiently at the cleared pick up section of the counter, and it’s only then that Dina realises she had a haircut. Her hair is sitting on her shoulders rather than past it, a couple strands stuck inside her collar, and the top part of her hair is pulled back in a low bun. Ellie grins wider when Dina meets her eyes, and Dina can feel her hand tremble a little as she presses the lid down on the coffee cup.

 _Has she always looked this fucking handsome_ ? She thinks, looking at Ellie’s jaw line. _What the fuck._

“Mocha for Ellie,” she murmurs softly, unsure if Ellie’s able to actually hear her, and holds the cup out for Ellie to take with more confidence than she feels.

Ellie takes it with a bashful smile, rubbing at the back of her neck like she’s embarrassed, and the action makes her bicep bulge in her sleeve.

“You’re looking very dashing today,” Dina tells her boldly.

Ellie seems to choke on nothing, her hand tightening on the cup as the blush settles heavily on her cheeks.

“Got a hot date?” Dina asks.

“I, uh, I have a presentation, actually,” Ellie stammers out weakly.

“Want one?” Dina asks, fighting the urge to wink at Ellie.

“A presentation?” Ellie asks, eyes wide, clearly not following.

“No- I- nevermind,” Dina shrugs it off, not willing to stoop to explaining her joke. “I hope your presentation goes well,” she adds sincerely.

“Thank you,” Ellie says. “I’m a bit nervous,” she admits quietly.

“You’ll do fantastic,” Dina reassures her.

Ellie grins, holding up the coffee like she’s thanking Dina before turning to leave. Dina’s stomach twists as she’s reminded of the writing on the cup. _I’ve got to take a chance, I suppose,_ she thinks.

She watches in what feels like slow motion as Ellie heads to the door just as a harried man enters. He clips her shoulder as he moves past her, and the coffee cup falls and splatters on the ground.

Ellie looks almost devastated, her blush creeping up her neck, and Dina apologises to Jesse quickly before heading over.

“Are you alright?” Dina asks them both, her eyes solidly on Ellie.

“I’m so sorry,” the man says quickly. “That was on me-”

“No, no, I’m in a rush and-” Ellie interrupts, rubbing at her wrist.

“Are you alright?” Dina repeats, reaching for Ellie’s hand before hesitating.

“Yeah,” Ellie says, tugging at her sleeve cuff stained with coffee to pull it away from her skin, the sleeve riding up enough to show the detail of the solid fern leaf and the outline of perhaps another fern frond peaking out.

“You’re not burnt or anything?” Dina asks in concern.

“No, no, I’m good,” Ellie says, checking her watch before smiling apologetically, eyebrows knitted together in concern. “I really need to go, I’m so sorry for the mess,” she says looking at Dina. She rushes over to the counter, grabbing several napkins to try to sop up the mess on the floor.

“Ell, I got it,” Dina says, taking the napkins from her. “Go focus on your presentation.”

“I’m so sorry,” the man repeats.

“Me too,” Ellie says, before thanking Dina, picking up the fallen coffee cup and throwing it into the bin without looking at it as she rushes off.

_Oh._

\--

“You just gotta try again,” Jesse tells her later.

She ignores him off, but he prepares another cup for Ellie again.

“A sweet ass coffee for a girl with a sweet ass?” he says slowly as he attempts to write neatly on the cup.

“Dude, what the-” Dina says, grabbing at the cup quickly and reading – ‘ _The sweetest coffee for the sweetest girl. Call me x’._

“You’re so easy to mess with sometimes,” Jesse laughs, moving to clean for closing as she huffs in the background.

The cup sits under the front bench for two weeks without Ellie appearing. Dina tries to focus on her exams.

\--

The next time that Ellie comes in Dina is wiping down the counter, taking the moment to clean following the morning rush. She’s preoccupied by her bioelectronics assignment, thinking through her second last lab report on the implementation of the biomedical signal acquisition and the processing system involved.

It’s a Monday, three weeks since Dina had seen Ellie, and she’s caught off-guard as she glances up when the door chimes to see Ellie and another woman enter the cafe. Ellie is wearing another button up shirt in a soft blue cotton fabric with a white pinstripe and a dark navy tie. Dina idly thinks about jumping the counter to kiss her, tugging her into the embrace with a firm grasp on her tie. _How is she getting hotter?_

Jesse grins at Dina eagerly and Dina feels like she’s watching an impending disaster from the width of his dorky grin and the small smile Ellie flashes to Dina when she meets her eyes.

“How can I help you today?” Jesse asks the woman in front of Ellie brightly, his enthusiasm bleeding through his normally polite and even customer service voice.

She holds a finger up in response, talking irately into her phone as she digs into the purse on her hip. Dina wrinkles her nose as she watches Ellie offer Jesse an apologetic smile over the women’s shoulder. The woman is dressed in corporate attire, or what appears to be items taken from corporate attire. She was wearing what appeared to be a waistcoat or a tight vest, clearly something meant to be worn under a blazer or over a button up shirt, but she was wearing neither. The vest leaves both arms bare, each covered heavily by tattoos. She looks sexy and put-together, a graceful frame juxtaposed with the amount of tattoos on display. _Is she something with Ellie? A friend? A colleague?_

“What do you-” she turns back to Ellie who smiles nervously at her, before she scowls into the phone. “Listen, I don’t have time for this right now, you’re meant to sort this stuff out before it comes to me for clearance.”

She huffs, rubbing at her face as she rolls her eyes exaggeratedly to Ellie. “Sorry,” she says to Jesse, covering the bottom of her phone as she talks. “Just two long blacks, please and make one a double.”

“Any sugar?” Jesse squeaks, running the transaction and letting the woman tap her card as she talks into the phone.

She doesn’t end up replying.

“Sugar?” Jesse asks Ellie, who shakes her head with a tight smile and walks over to join the woman.

 _She seems delightful,_ Dina thinks as Jesse hands her two cups. She squints at his writing on the cups: two long blacks. _This is so fucking far from Ellie’s order, it’s ridiculous._

She makes a double long black for the woman, and Ellie’s normal disgustingly sweet mocha. By the time she’s finished the woman has hung up the call and she’s talking closely and quietly with Ellie.

“The two long blacks?” Dina calls, hoping she’s right in assuming one was meant for Ellie.

“I believe in you,” she hears the woman say, placing a hand on Ellie’s shoulder and squeezing it gently. Ellie looks a little enamoured with her, looking at her dreamily as she watches the woman walk over to the counter.

“Thank you,” the woman purrs, reaching out for one of the cups. 

“This one is the double,” Dina says, purposefully holding Ellie’s cup closer to herself until Ellie comes closer. “And a plain long black for you,” she says, holding it out.

“Thank you,” Ellie murmurs quietly, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment. She takes the cup and looks forlornly at the sugar packets in front of her as the woman she’s with begins to leave.

Dina smiles as reassuringly as she can as Ellie sadly turns, no sugars in hand, and follows the woman out the door.

Dina watches them for a long moment as they chat outside the cafe. Ellie seems to be doing more listening than talking, looking a little nervous as she tugs at her tie, and she seems to tense in anticipation of the unpleasant strong taste of coffee as she lifts her drink to her lips. She freezes for a moment as she tastes the drink, a smile curling at her lips as she looks back inside to Dina.

‘Thank you’, she mouths to her.

 _You’re so welcome_ , Dina thinks as she smiles.

Her smile dims as the woman loops her arm through Ellie’s and they walk off together.

\--

Ellie comes in regularly from that point on. Every Friday, like clockwork, always during the busiest moment of the day, and Dina barely gets the chance to chat with her. Not that it makes a difference when Ellie is taken – by an asshole who doesn’t even know her coffee order.

“I think, worst case scenario, she turns you down and you continue to not talk to her once a week,” Jesse says idly as they open the cafe for the day.

“Jeez, that’s great advice, Jesse,” Dina grumbles, rolling her eyes at him.

“I’m just saying, the stakes are so low, you just need to give it another try,” Jesse says. “The cup is ready.”

“She has a mean girlfriend, you saw her too,” Dina says back. “I’m not going to make her uncomfortable.”

“Dude, that was probably a coworker.” Jesse rolls his eyes. “Back yourself, you can be her nice girlfriend.”

“Just drop it,” Dina says flatly.

\--

Two weeks later, Ellie comes in twice on the same day. The first is during the typical morning run, the second closer to four in the afternoon. Her shoulders are slumped, despite the weather warming up she’s wearing a cardigan over her button up, and she looks exhausted.

“Hey, Dina,” she greets tiredly.

It takes Dina the full length of time between Ellie entering and Ellie reaching the counter for Dina to respond, her brain unprepared for the opportunity to see Ellie twice in the same day. Despite the nametag she clips to her shift every shift, she feels a little stunned to hear Ellie say her name. _Has she said my name before?_ “H-hi Ellie,” Dina manages to stammer, pressing her hands onto the counter in front of her to stay calm.

“Can I get a large mocha to go?” Ellie asks, pulling out her wallet.

“I got it, on the house,” Dina smiles, plucking a blank cup from beside her and decidedly not the one under the counter. She sees Jesse roll his eyes as she writes on it; he nods to them both and mumbles something about the back, and disappears.

“It’s okay, I’m happy to-” Ellie begins to decline.

“I got it,” Dina waves her off, writing Ellie’s name neatly on the cup. She doesn’t write the order, the shop is empty and she knows she’s about to make the drink herself but she wants to write Ellie’s name anyway. The letters are as neat as she can make them, and the little heart beside it that she gets the courage to draw is shakier than she’d like. _Jesse was right about preparing a cup earlier_ , Dina thinks, as she moves to the coffee machine.

“Thank you,” Ellie smiles, walking over to the pick up area and leaning on the counter while she watches Dina work.

“You know… it’s been a couple months, do you think you’re ready for less sugar?” Dina grins, pausing as she spoons three sugars into the cup.

“Definitely not,” Ellie says quickly. “I think if anything I need a doubleshot and more sugar so I can’t taste the difference.”

Dina laughs, adding two more sugars into the cup. “Still not a fan of coffee?”

“I never said that,” Ellie replies defensively.

“The five sugars and the chocolate syrup suggest otherwise, babe,” she grins cheekily, holding the cup up to Ellie for emphasis until her words register in her head. She can feel her cheeks flushing in time with the blush appearing on Ellie’s, her ears turning a little red.

“I’m too tired for this argument,” Ellie mumbles bashfully, rubbing at the back of her neck.

“Good thing you’re having a little bit of coffee with your sugar syrup,” Dina laughs, topping the drink up with frothed milk.

“Good thing,” Ellie says, sighing deeply and rolling her shoulders restlessly.

Dina brings the cup over to her, pausing before putting the lid on. “Do you need six sugars today?” Dina asks kindly. “It’s alright if you do.”

“You’re such an ass,” Ellie says affectionately, looking at Dina softly.

Dina doesn’t think an insult has ever made her chest feel so warm. _Is this love?_ She shakes her thoughts off. _Maybe I need a coffee._ “You seem tired though, and a-” she checks her watch, “-a 4pm coffee doesn’t seem like you’re doing good.”

“I am very tired and about to go back to work,” Ellie laments. “We’ve got a big thing due for a client, and I- I don’t know when I’m headed home today.”

“At least it’s Friday,” Dina reassures her. “So you’ll have enough time to rest over the weekend.”

“I’ve got a big portfolio due on Monday,” Ellie sighs. “I’m so keen to get uni wrapped up, I’m fucking over it,” she huffs.

Dina grins, leaning across the counter to grab a sugar packet and pour it into Ellie’s drink. “You earnt it,” she says, fighting back a grimace at the thought of the sugar in the drink as she stirs it. “Only the sweetest things for you,” she murmurs.

Ellie looks at her dazedly for a long moment.

“How- how is your girlfriend?” Dina says when the silence lingers a little too long for comfort, pressing the lid down securely on Ellie’s cup. _What the fuck is wrong with me?_

“My girlfriend?” Ellie asks confusedly, taking the cup from her, their fingers brushing.

“Yeah, that girl from the other week?”

Ellie frowns, rubbing her tired eyes as she attempts to remember. “Ohhh, Cat?”

Dina shrugs, “Didn’t get her name. She bought you a long black?”

“Yes, it was Cat,” Ellie grins. “Thank you so much for that, I _really_ needed a coffee that day.”

“I don’t think we can call what you drink a coffee,” Dina laughs, watching as Ellie smiles after her first sip.

“I think six sugars might actually be the sweet spot,” Ellie teases.

“You’re absolutely disgusting.”

“You like it,” Ellie grins.

_I do._

“Anyway, Cat was my supervisor for my internship, definitely _not_ a girlfriend,” Ellie explains. “I’m- I’m single.”

“Was your supervisor?” Dina asks, latching onto a safer topic and pointedly ignoring a clearer opportunity to flirt.

“Yes, I finished up when I had my presentation,” Ellie grins.

“Which went well?”

“Which went well,” she confirms, taking another sip. “And then Cat reached out to me a couple weeks back with a job offer, and now I actually work there and get paid money for it.”

“God, that’s the dream,” Dina laughs. “Congrats though, that’s amazing!”

“Yeah, I’m still on Fridays only cause I’m trying to juggle everything with the semester almost finished,” Ellie shrugs. “But it’s manageable, and Cat says I can go full time when I finish up my degree. I actually had to argue to stay and help the team today, she called me a baby and told me to go home.”

“She sounds like an interesting supervisor,” Dina grins.

“She’s more of a colleague now, I report to someone else but she’s senior on the team,” Ellie says. “I think she’s just looking out for me. Told me to not burn myself out and fuck up my degree when I’m this close to the end on some random graphic design company.”

“I’m glad you have someone like that in your corner.”

“Me too,” Ellie smiles. “How is your honours year treating you? It was electrical engineering, right?”

“Yeah,” Dina says softly, fidgeting with her hands. “It’s going well, wrapping up soon as well. I’m looking forward to the summer and having a proper break. I feel pretty swamped between all the job applications and applying for a masters.”

“A masters?”

“Yeah, I’m not sure what I want to do yet,” Dina hums. “Like I’m interested in doing the masters, my academic supervisor says I’ll definitely get in, and I know I’ll enjoy it but I don’t want to spend another three years studying when I could be starting to work.”

“Then I think applying for all the options is a good idea,” Ellie grins. “Give yourself the most amount of options later, and you could always do the masters part time?”

“That’s true,” Dina smiles.

“I should get back to it, unfortunately,” Ellie grimaces. She takes another sip of her coffee and pouts when she finds she’s finished it. Dina eyes the cup with a little bit of worry, Ellie having not yet noticed the heart on it. “Thank you for this,” Ellie grins before heading to the door. “I owe you.”

“Don’t work too late,” Dina calls after her. She sighs as she watches Ellie leave, the coffee cup placed in the bin near the door; Ellie had definitely not seen the heart. _Not that it was much to see_ , Dina thinks.

“' _I owe you_ ’,” Dina hears Jesse repeat childishly as soon as the door shuts behind Ellie. “How about we do dinner? How about you buy _me_ a coffee sometime? Forget the coffee, I can keep you up all night instead,” Jesse huffs, wrapping his arm around Dina’s shoulders. “Dude, there were so many options there, are you even trying?”

“You’re such an asshole,” Dina groans, turning into his chest and hugging him tightly. “I hate you so much.”

“And you, my friend, are exhausting,” Jesse murmurs, resting his head on top of hers. “And completely useless.”

\--

The next time Ellie comes in, Jesse gives Dina the cup he had prepared. Dina gives it to Ellie, butterflies intense in her stomach and watches as Ellie leaves. Ellie stops outside the stop, seems to blink in confusion and keeps walking. She burns herself three times that day thinking about it.

Ellie doesn’t call.

\--

The following week Dina glares at Jesse when she reads - ‘ _If you ever need a little extra sugar, I’ve got more for you. Call me x_ ’. She raises an eyebrow at him, but he just grins cheekily back.

She huffs as she starts making the drink, only glimpsing at Ellie for a brief moment, registering her smile and the crisp white shirt she’s wearing, before diligently attempting to focus only on the coffee.

Ellie walks over the counter before Dina can call her name.

“Mocha for Ellie,” Dina says anyway, trying to smile as confidently as she can.

“Six sugars?” Ellie asks playfully as she takes the drink.

“Five, nothing more, nothing less,” Dina smirks. “I’m not enabling you.”

Ellie grins back at her before nodding and heading off for the day. Dina doesn’t see her stop to read the cup this time, and she still doesn’t call.

The disappointment feels like an ache in Dina’s chest.

\--

‘ _I’ve been thinking about you a latte,_ Dina reads. “This one… is not good,” she tells Jesse flatly.

He laughs loudly. “And you thought the other ones were?”

\--

Ellie doesn’t call.

\--

_‘You mocha me crazy! Call me x’_

Dina glares at Jesse after Ellie leaves and the morning rush dies down.

“How did a mocha pun occur to you _after_ the latte one?” Dina asks in exasperation.

“Excuse you,” Jesse huffs. “My puns are not the reason you can’t get a date.”

“Then what’s the reason?”

“The reason is we’re writing on cups like children and you aren’t using your big girl words,” Jesse grins playfully, patting Dina’s head to try to soften the blow.

\--

_‘My coffee hasn’t kicked in yet, can’t think of anything charming to say. Text me? x’_

“Can you ever think of something charming to say?” Dina rolls her eyes as she reads the cup.

“I’m doing a better job than you are,” Jesse says, taking the cup back from her and carefully placing it under the counter. “Can’t believe I’m flirting with a girl _for you_.”

“And you’re doing a horrible job,” Dina teases.

Jesse raises an eyebrow at her, tapping his foot as he waits.

“I appreciate your help,” Dina groans.

“Don’t hurt yourself,” Jesse laughs.

\--

Ellie doesn’t call but Dina sees her frown when she stops to read the cup outside.

\--

_‘You’ve turned me down before but I’m asking for an extra shot? Text me? x’_

“Okay, I’m drawing a line in the sand,” Dina says. “This one kinda hurt to read, and we’re stopping here. She isn’t interested and I’m making things weird.”

“Maybe you could consider talking to her?” Jesse asks, wiping down the tables as she watches him unhelpfully. “Like as a last ditch effort? And directly and clearly tell her you think she’s cute and you’d like to do dinner sometime?”

“Shut up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not angst in my fluff... anyway, hope you enjoyed the update! If you did please drop a line and let me know what you think :)
> 
> also if you wanna yell at me, my tumblr user: @respectablesentiment


	3. Summer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suck and I'm really sorry about it. If you've previously left a comment, please know that I appreciate it and I'm embarrassed that it took me a month to respond. Gonna go through and respond to things now, I would have earlier but I felt guilty and anxious about how long its been when the final chapter wasn't ready. Genuinely though, the nice words and kindness always mean a lot to me. 
> 
> Gracefully beta'd once again by my gf.

Dina reverts back to plain cups. Jesse seems disappointed, but Dina feels a little relieved to not watch her phone all the time. Ellie seems to relax and linger a little more when she can, which Dina tries to enjoy as much as she can.

“How did you go with your finals?” Ellie asks, as Dina works her way through the line of cups.

“Pretty good,” Dina huffs, wiping at a loose lock of hair stuck to her forehead from the heat of the steam. “Actually, fucking excellent, when I think about it. I think I nailed my bioelectronics exam.”

“That’s fantastic,” Ellie smiles, moving to the side to let a woman pick up her drink. “I told you you would.”

“Yeah yeah, and your final portfolio?”

“I’ve gotten good feedback from my advisor so far,” Ellie grins. “But Cat loved it and I’ve got the full time role!”

“That’s amazing,” Dina replies. “You still gonna take a break before starting properly?”

“Yep, gonna do two days a week for a month, just to give myself some room to breathe.” Ellie sighs deeply. “I’ve just got one big project left, which is mostly done, and then I’m free.”

“I’m glad you’re giving yourself a proper break,” Dina says, calling out for a “Brodie” to pick up his flat white.

“I’m really lucky that Joel is so supportive,” Ellie shrugs. “I took the year off of work because both semesters had so many intensive courses, and he didn’t even blink.”

“Joel?”

“My adoptive dad,” Ellie offers. “He’s the one that told me to stop drinking energy drink and have coffee like an adult.”

“Ahh,” Dina grins, making Ellie’s drink. “You drinking energy drink before really explains this fucking bullshit,” she pauses as she puts the fourth spoonful of sugar in, eyes flicking over to Ellie’s playfully.

“I think you’ve counted wrong,” Ellie smiles politely.

“You’re right, that was one too many, yeah?” Dina teases.

“Oh, fuck you,” Ellie laughs.

Dina grins, adding the fifth sugar and continuing to make the drink.

“Coffee is actually vile,” Ellie adds as she watches. “I think I’m getting used to it, though.”

“You can’t call what you drink coffee,” Dina reminds her. “I can’t believe you won’t try four sugars.”

“I’ve found my sweet spot,” Ellie insists.

“This is going to give you cavities, it’s sickening,” Dina says, pressing the lid down carefully and handing it to Ellie.

Ellie takes the cup slowly, their fingers brushing, and it’s only then that Dina notices that Ellie’s sleeves are cuffed today, rolled up only once. Dina can see the second fern frond on the inside of her wrist, the tattoo’s design flaring up from there as it presumably follows the curve of her arm. “I don’t know what’s sweeter,” Ellie says playfully. “You, or the coffee.”

“Definitely the coffee,” Dina says dismissively, her mind not really processing Ellie’s words as she stares at the tattoo. _It must take up most of her forearm… does it wrap around it?_

There’s an awkward pause that Dina seems to miss half of, tuning back in when Ellie continues. “Anyway I gotta run, see you next week?” Ellie says, her smile faltering.

“Yeah,” Dina manages to recover, looking back up to Ellie and trying to smile normally. “Have a good weekend,” she calls as Ellie leaves.

\--

Ellie comes into the coffee shop twice a week now, Tuesdays becoming a welcome addition that Dina didn’t notice at first. Jesse teases her for switching her shifts around, so that she works every Tuesday as opposed to every second. 

“If you’re willing to change your work schedule for another fleeting fucking encounter a week,” Jesse huffs. “Then maybe you should try pulling your courage together to ask her out properly.”

Dina rolls her eyes and doesn’t respond, doing her best to focus on cleaning the coffee machine as they close for the day. 

“Honestly, I think she’d be into it if you just approached her properly,” Jesse stresses again, wiping down the tables aggressively in the closed shop. 

Dina feels exhausted, a tension headache lingering at the edges of her mind for most of the afternoon, and she had been mentally checked out for hours.

“If not for yourself, can you do it for me?” Jesse asks. 

Dina’s eyes flick over to his playfully. “I’m not asking her to go out with you.”

“You’re exhausting,” Jesse groans.

“I saw her read the cup multiple times,” Dina repeats dutifully, the words feeling more familiar than she wants them to be. “I gave her the option and she didn’t take it. That’s it.” 

“If you won’t talk to her directly, can we do the cup thing more one time?” Jesse asks eagerly, and the look in his eye as he approaches Dina gives her pause. 

“Why?” she asks slowly, raising an eyebrow. “Think of a new line you’re dying to embarrass me with?” 

“Genuinely, I think this is the best idea yet,” Jesse grins, coming around the counter to pull out a cup tucked at the very back of the shelves under the counter. 

Dina snorts as she reads it, twisting the cup in her hand to do so and lifting her eyes afterwards to look questioningly at Jesse. 

_‘Dear Ellie, I have very strong feelings for you, I think you are sweet and cute and handsome and talk about you 98% of the time, can I please buy you dinner? Love your big bi disaster of a crush, Dina.’_

“You can’t be serious,” Dina laughs. “This is- this is awful.”

“I feel like it sends a clear and direct message,” Jesse says, plucking the cup from her hands. “We establish all the key factors. You genuinely like her, you’re a disaster about it, and you want to keep being a disaster about it.” 

“I think I’m going to have to pass on this idea,” Dina shrugs, taking the cup back and crumpling it in her hands quickly. 

“I think that was very wasteful of you,” Jesse says. “We could have still used it… perhaps an addendum would have made it work.” 

“An addendum?” Dina asks jokingly. 

“Yes, something like ‘P.S., poetry available upon request’,” Jesse teases back. 

\--

The weeks of summer drag on. Dina’s days seem twice as long when she’s working, and somehow seem to speed up just enough for her to never quite appreciate the beach as much as she wants to. The relief from finishing her final exams is still felt, the pride from her final marks even more so, but the lack of the cycle of assignments and studying leaves her with a phantom feeling of stress when there is no work to stress over. 

Briefly, at times, she thinks she misses the comfortable stress of studying compared with job applications, usually close to the deadline of job applications and in the split second after sending an email when she can’t recall if she remembered to attach the attachments. It’s only ever brief, though, and seems to coincide with her mixed feelings about a masters. 

Dina has always been a summer person and she never feels as full of energy as when she feels the sun on her skin, preferably at the beach. Summer in the cafe feels starkly different, stifling and uncomfortable when it comes to working in long pants. She does her best to mitigate it, and honestly she thinks the store would be quite pleasant if she didn’t find herself so often standing in front of a coffee machine, steaming milk. 

Ellie filters through twice a week, seeming more confident and laid back than she had been as an intern. She cycles through a steady line up of button-up shirts that hug her frame nicely and do her biceps justice. Dina notices Cat hanging around more, often in tandem with Ellie and on the days where Dina has the least opportunity to chat with Ellie, but she makes do. 

Dina thinks it’s a special type of torture to feel the sweat at the back of her neck bead and run down her shirt, blowing strands of her hair as best she can out of her eyes, and generally feeling unpleasant and overheated all day - and yet Ellie never seems to stray from her long sleeve shirts. 

The most Dina has seen is a cuff half-rolled, and the curiosity surrounding Ellie’s tattoo burns inside of her. 

Jesse notices - he couldn’t possibly miss it, with how fixated Dina becomes. 

“But what do you think it is, though?” Dina asks, more than occasionally. “Just two fern fronds, do you think, or-?” 

Jesse’s answers typically swing from rolling his eyes to suggesting nonsensical ideas out of sheer frustration. “Honestly I think the fern is a red herring, and the tattoo is a pin-up girl.” It becomes a running joke between them, one of many among the standard criticisms of customers throughout the warmer months. 

\--

“Honestly, you look like you’re going to combust,” Jesse mutters as he passes Dina behind the counter. 

Dina huffs, only half-focused on the drinks as she looks outside the window to where Ellie had just been. “I’m more likely to melt,” Dina murmurs back, knowing he can’t catch it over the sound of the next customer ordering. _Either from the heat, or from Ellie in a tie,_ she thinks. 

\--

“I’ve given it some thought,” Jesse suggests the following week. “I reckon the tattoo would have to be really bad for her to hide it in this heat,” he continues, wiping the sweat from his temple. 

“Hmm?” Dina hums softly, pressing her cold water bottle to her face. 

“I reckon it’s a really distasteful nude,” Jesse says, unable to maintain a stoic expression on his face. 

“That’s fine,” Dina mumbles, barely focused on him as she tilts her head to press the bottle against her neck as best she can. _Should go to the beach after work,_ she thinks, _just give up and stay there._

“Like imagine if it was just a full dick and balls,” Jesse comments, no longer attempting to hide his smile. 

“Wait, what?” Dina says dazedly, looking over to him in confusion. 

He smiles in a way that’s almost pitying. “I got the counter for a bit, maybe go wash your face and have a breather?”

“Yeah,” Dina nods. “Yeah, okay.”

\--

The weather report has been saying it for a week and yet Dina still wasn’t prepared. A heat wave. _A fucking heat wave._

And yet people still diligently showed up for their coffee. Dina can appreciate it; the caffeine is important, it’s a part of a routine and coffee tastes fucking delicious. But at the same time - _why can’t these people order fucking iced coffee?_

The café is relatively well air conditioned, Dina knows this, but standing in front of the coffee machine for most of the day leaves Dina uncomfortably overheated. Her face is flushed, she either feels like she’s sweating or knows she is, and the discomfort for both herself and Jesse has left them alternating half a shift each between the till and the drinks. 

Ellie doesn’t come in during the lunch rush. It’s uncharacteristic of her on a Friday to miss her normal time and while Dina briefly misses her presence - she knows it’s too hot for coffee and hopes Ellie is maybe taking a day off. 

Ellie comes in sometime in the afternoon. 

Dina feels like her brain stutters over the moment. 

The bell rings on the door. 

Ellie enters. 

Dina registers the jeans and white long-sleeve button up slowly. The sleeves are rolled up by the length of little more than one cuff, and a little under a third of her arm is exposed. 

Dina’s left eye starts to twitch as she stares. She’s angry and she isn't entirely sure why. The most offensive part seems to be that Ellie is calm, her face as beautiful as usual, and she doesn’t look overheated or flushed to any degree. 

Dina almost drops her water bottle, instead she places it heavily on the counter in front of her, the cold condensation somehow blending in with the feeling of her hands sweating. _Calm down,_ she thinks to herself. 

“Dina,” Jesse says quietly. “Just take your break, I’ll serve her, just go,” he says reassuringly, pushing her lightly away from the counter. “Go on.” 

She takes a long breath, gives Ellie a quick apologetic smile which she isn’t sure Ellie notices as she quickly turns and goes into the back room.

 _I need a new job,_ Dina thinks. _I don’t even know if I’m frustrated about being overheated, her tattoo and the long sleeves. This isn’t that fucking important._

She gives herself ten minutes and it feels excessive. It’s mostly spent pacing, a brief moment to wash her face, and the remainder is spent sitting on the couch in the corner, hands on her knees trying to breathe. _She’s just weird, it’s fine. That’s her problem._

_Maybe she has scars. She doesn’t owe anyone anything. What the FUCK is her tattoo? Why would she get a tattoo and never show it?_

_How the fuck is she still breathing in jeans?_

_Why the fuck am I this mad?_

\--

Dina emerges from the back room feeling slightly calmer, she can handle this. There’s only several hours left in her shift, and she won’t have to see Ellie for at least half a week. She’ll cool down, maybe she’s been working too much. _I can’t believe I thought I liked her, she’s the most infuriating person I’ve ever met and I barely fucking know her._

“Dina,” Jesse says, his voice tight and almost apologetic when she comes back out. “Um, she’s still here?” He says it like a question, but it’s a statement. Awkward but truthful. 

Dina looks over quickly and can see her in one of the booths in the corner. Ellie never sticks around, Dina hasn’t seen her sit down in half a year and _today_ is the day she chooses to drink her coffee here? _Fuck me._

Dina wasn’t going to talk to her, she was going to focus and clean the counters again. She tells herself this dutifully, grabbing one of the cleaning cloth and starting to scrub at the counter. 

She lasts half a minute before she fucks up. She glances up, briefly, and she meets Ellie’s eyes. 

Ellie’s smile is sweet and somewhat nervous, she lights up when she sees Dina like she’s been eagerly waiting and Dina feels a momentary flicker of guilt about hiding for so long. 

It’s only momentary before her frustration rushes back in. 

Dina throws the cloth down on the counter, stalking over to drop into the booth across from Ellie. “What the fuck is your problem?” She almost spits, her fists thumping on the table louder than expected.

Ellie’s eyes widen, round and startled, and she shifts in her seat uncomfortable. 

_Calm down,_ Dina tells herself. _Calm the fuck down._

“I-,” Ellie starts uneasily. “I’m sorry? 

“Why are you always in long sleeves?” Dina asks, trying to force her voice to be quieter and failing. “How the fuck are you wearing long sleeves during a heat wave?!” 

“I-,” Ellie shrugs, she reaches out timidly and places her hand on top of one of Dina’s fists. “I’m cold?” She offers awkwardly. 

Her hand is like ice, and it throws Dina off almost immediately. It’s like her brain just shuts down for several moments, thinking about an earlier memory from months before - the first time she’d touched Ellie, it had been winter then and Ellie was wrapped in a puffy jacket, the cold of her hands contrasting starkly against the warmth of her blush. Dina finds herself holding Ellie’s hand with both of hers when she comes back to the present, blinking dazedly as she watches her hands rubbing Ellie’s palm absently as though to warm her up. _Oh?_

“I have bad circulation,” Ellie shrugs, her voice squeaking slightly like she’s asking Dina a question. “The office I’m working in across the road always has an AC that’s way too fucking cold.” 

“Oh,” Dina nods, her frustration shrivelling up pathetically inside of her. _Of course she was cold? What the fuck is wrong with me?_ “Your- your hands are really cold,” Dina says in a small voice, she reaches for Ellie’s other hand and cups them both in hers. She rubs them gently, soothingly, trying to warm them up as they sit in silence while idly thinking about how soothing the cold feels while she’s overheated. 

“Yeah, I know,” Ellie offers stiltedly. 

Dina sees Jesse out of the corner of her eye, he is grinning, eyes excited and holding a thumbs up like Dina had actually managed to do something. 

“Why did it matter so much?” Ellie asks hesitantly. 

Dina blushes, shrugging and humming noncommittally. _I’m an idiot._

“You raised your voice,” Ellie almost whispers, Dina can see a soft smile curling her lips. “Come on, why did it matter so much?”

“I just… I wanted to see your tattoo,” Dina admits shyly. “It- it sounds stupid now.” Her fingers are tracing the leaves peeking out from Ellie’s sleeve.

Ellie laughs, “Seriously?” She pulls her backs up, rolling her right sleeve up properly now, almost fully to her elbow and Dina’s eyes focus on the flex in her bicep before she really takes in the tattoo. “Here,” she says, extending her arm out across the table for Dina to hold.

Dina traces the design, fingers following the lines of the solid, small leafed fern and then the hollow, larger leafed fern before lingering on the moth. “It’s, um, it’s really pretty,” Dina adds, absently. The tattoo is objectively nice, wrapping almost fully around her arm and it suits her.

“Thank you,” Ellie says graciously.

 _I can’t believe I yelled at her, I’m so dumb._ Dina wouldn’t be able to say how long she sat there for, deep in a reverie, a soft moment with someone who was still mostly a stranger.

“Dina,” Jesse calls out eventually. “Are you coming back to work or what?”

“In a minute,” she says dismissively back, smiling back up at Ellie. “I’m sorry I’m- that I was so weird about it. I’ve just- I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and I’ve been dying all summer, and you- I- I just didn’t get it.”

“That’s alright,” Ellie replies. “I should have come in on an off day or something but I- the office is out of my way already and I felt too embarrassed to drive this far out just to see you.”

“You thought about it though?” Dina asks, raising an eyebrow. 

Ellie shakes her head, scoffing almost at herself as she blushes. “Yeah,” she says quietly. “I thought about you.”

Dina bites her lip, unsure if she wants the answer but dying to know. “Why did you never call?”

Ellie’s brow furrows, looking furtively between Dina and over to the counter presumably at Jesse. “I- wait…” Ellie pulls her hands back, rubbing her temples as though she has a headache. “Wait.”

Dina waits patiently, the dots slowly starting to connect in her mind as she thinks back. “Wait,” Dina says. “Oh my god.”

“That was your number?” Ellie groans. 

“You thought that was Jesse’s number?” Dina says almost at the same time. 

“Oh my god,” Ellie sighs, rubbing at her eyes. “I’m _so_ dumb.”

“No, no, I-” Dina laughs. “Trust me, I’m much worse.”

“I just-” Ellie huffs. “ _He_ was the one on the till each time. I- _He_ was writing the names. You- it didn’t look like your writing?”

Dina rubs the back of her neck, grimacing as she attempts to find words. She tries diligently, her mouth opening and closing as though to speak but nothing coming out. 

“Was…” Ellie says slowly. “Was he writing on the cups _for you_?”

Dina presses her lips together, meeting Ellie’s eyes briefly but dropping her gaze and nodding in embarrassment. 

Ellie laughs, it’s low and raspy and Dina would feel ashamed if it wasn’t coupled with Ellie taking her hands again. “I wish you’d said something.”

“Me too,” Dina admits. “Jesse was- he was telling me I should do that but I- it never felt like the right time.”

“I know right?” Ellie agrees eagerly. “I’ve only been able to get out of work at the worst moments, and it’s always busy here, and you can’t ever really talk for long.”

Dina smiles at her words. “Were you also-?”

“Joel has been telling me to ask you to dinner for months,” Ellie says shyly, squeezing Dina’s hands in hers. “I just-” she bites her lip. “You’re at work, y’know? I didn’t wanna be one of _those_ people.” 

They smile at each other in a somewhat muted level of shy excitement, Ellie’s cheeks are properly pink now and Dina traces the freckles on her cheeks with her eyes. 

“I figured if I was gonna do it I should come at a better time,” Ellie says quietly, looking away to glance around the shop as though she’s too embarrassed to hold Dina’s gaze. “When the shop was empty… I- I’ve finished up for the day and today was a good day, and I-” she looks back over to Dina. “I thought today was as good a day as any to try.” 

Dina lets herself share an almost giddy smile with Ellie before it flickers and slides off her face. Dina groans. “And I hid in the back room for twenty minutes and then came out and yelled at you,” she says, dropping her head down to stare dully at the table. 

“It was closer to ten minutes, I think,” Ellie laughs. 

“I’m sorry I’m like this,” Dina mutters. 

“I figured I’d wait for you, check if you were okay and maybe- maybe still ask,” Ellie says softly. She waits for Dina to look back up at her. “Can I take you out to dinner?” 

“Can it be tonight?” Dina murmurs. 

Ellie squints at her playfully. “It can be tonight, is that a yes?” 

“Definitely,” Dina affirms, pulling Ellie’s hands forward to press a soft kiss to the back of each. 

“Uh, Dina?” Jesse calls out hesitantly. 

Dina looks back at him over her shoulder, still holding Ellie’s hands to her face, the cold soothing on her cheeks. 

“It’s been a pretty quiet day,” Jesse says, scratching the back of his head. “Don’t you think?”

“Uh, what?” Dina asks, thinking about how draining the day had been in general.

“I can handle it from here,” Jesse says, his tone balancing between pointed and polite. His eyes flick between her and the door. “You know… if you need to leave early for today.”

Dina tries to hide her grin, turning back to Ellie eagerly. “Would you-”

“Wanna get outta here?” Ellie says for her. 

“Thought you’d never ask,” Dina grins. 

\--

(They only make it a couple metres outside before Dina pulls Ellie aside to kiss her deeply in the alley next to the shop. Ellie tastes of sugar and chocolate, and the heat of the kiss feels overwhelming with Ellie’s cold hands under Dina’s shirt on her flushed skin.)

(Dina cancels her shift for the next day.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I found this challenging to finish and to write because the whole thing was meant to be a really short story - maybe the length of just the first chapter. My idea was just focused on the idea of Dina having an initial crush and then just increasingly becoming less enamored and more annoyed by the weird woman coming into the cafe.  
> I struggled for a bit with getting stuck back into chapter 3, and I’m really apologetic for all the delays (have had some stuff going on). Anyway I ended up really liking how this turned out, I hope you did as well!  
> All the best x


End file.
